1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the termination or interfacing of the various components of coaxial cable with an electrical connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A coaxial cable normally includes a center conductor, surrounded by a core, a shield or foil and a drain or ground wire, all of which are surrounded by an insulating jacket. When the cable is terminated to a connector, the insulation is stripped back or removed to expose a section of the center conductor for termination to an appropriate terminal member such as a contract. A section of the drain wire also is exposed and usually is free to be bent outwardly for engagement with a conductive portion of the connector, such as the connector housing or shell, for grounding purposes. One of the problems with such termination procedures and/or structures is that the drain wire often is not maintained in proper positioning for proper grounding.
Another problem resides in the use of coaxial cable in offices or other localities where the cable is run under carpeting or the like. This has become increasingly prevalent for undercarpet data transmission between data processing equipment. Such undercarpet cable is fabricated in a generally flat configuration and, consequently, various adapters have been designed to provide a transition from a flat or rectangular cable to a round or circular connector or other interfacing component. For instance, the rear end of standard round connectors or interfacing components have been modified for accepting the flat cable. Of course, this requires separate connector components to facilitate accommodating both flat and round coaxial cable. Often, the efficiency of field termination is adversely affected because of the inability of standard connectors or interfacing components to be readily adaptable for receiving either round or flat coaxial cable.
This invention is directed to solving the above-identified problems.